NJ judge rejects protest in school bullying ruling

RIDGEWOOD (AP) — An administrative law judge has found an eighth-grade boy in New Jersey violated anti-bullying rules by calling a student a “horse” and “fat.”

The judge says a reasonable person should know that repeatedly calling a teenage girl “fat” would have a harmful effect. He rejected the Ridgewood boy’s claim that he never intended to harass her.

The judge found two after-school detentions was fair punishment.

The boy’s father told The Record newspaper he believes the state’s anti-bullying law was wrongly applied. He also says he believes his son never called the girl “fat,” and that she cooked up the accusations to get his son in trouble.

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Superintendent Daniel Fishbein says he doesn’t think such an incident should end up in court, considering the cost and staff time involved.